1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to containers and, more particularly, pertains to containers having separate compartments in which several ingredients of a product may be stored separately until it is desired to admix them, at which time it is possible to establish communication between the compartments so that the separated ingredients may be admixed prior to dispensing of the product from the containers.
Containers of this type are useful for the separate storage of ingredients or materials for a variety of products, and have particular applicability to the fields of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, for instance, where at least two ingredients can be stored separately for reasonably lengthy periods of time, but if admixed will produce a product which deteriorates rather rapidly. Such products usually, but not necessarily, comprise at least one liquid ingredient and one other ingredient which may be either in the form of a liquid or in the form of dry granules or powder.
Other fields of application in which such containers may find utility are in the separate storage and predispensing addition of color pigments to paints, the admixing of catalysts and chemical compounds (e.g., epoxy cements), the combination of different chemicals in order to produce desired reactions (e.g., multicomponent foam systems), and unstable colorants such as naturally-occurring colors.
Another important field of use for containers of this type lies in the storage of foodstuffs and particularly beverages. Thus, a new flavoring constituted of dry ingredients, and being in the form of granular material or a powder may have been developed for carbonated beverages which has significant potential consumer appeal in comparison with existing products, with the beverage, however, having a limited shelf life after the flavoring is mixed with liquid or carbonated water present in the container. The flavoring has a lengthier shelf life when maintained in a dry condition and separate from the water or liquid, and with the product being more flavorful and marketable when stored in a container which maintains the flavoring and carbonated water in separate compartments and inaccessible to each other until opening of the container for the purpose of dispensing the beverage.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
At present, the prior art discloses various containers or receptacles for the separate storage of various materials or ingredients of a product adapted to be admixed prior to dispensing from the containers.
Nosik U.S. Pat. No. 2,721,522; Bowes et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,156,369; Magni U.S. Pat. No. 3,603,469; Morane U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,604; Lanfranconi et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,136 and Cavazza U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,872 each disclose multicompartmented containers for the separate storage of various materials or ingredients of a product adapted to be admixed prior to dispensing from the containers. Each of these patents discloses a type of container in the shape of a bottle, can, or the like wherein a frangible member is adapted to be severed or ruptured by the depression of a plunger so as to dispense a material stored in a compartment within the neck of the bottle or container into a liquid which is located in the container. However, severance of the frangible member is caused by relatively complex and cumbersome mechanisms or actuators in the prior art patents, thereby rendering them unattractive from an economical standpoint. Moreover, in various of the earlier patents, such as in Nosik and Morane, there is encountered the drawback of portions of the closure forming loose debris in the containers subsequent to opening of the latter, which will render the containers unattractive and possibly unsanitary from a consumer standpoint.
Gil de Lloret U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,372 discloses a type of container storing a first material which includes a pull-top opener and in which a compartment for the separate storage of a second material is positioned beneath the top closure of the container. Thus, when imparting a pull to the opener to provide access to the contents of the container, a piercing lever is caused to rotate downwardly into engagement with a frangible bottom wall of the compartment, thereby rupturing the wall and releasing the material stored in the separate compartment to admix with the first material in the container. The entire top of the container, including the separate compartment, may then be removed from the container leaving a kind of open drinking cup structure.